It is critical in certain industries that goods be stored within specific temperature ranges to maintain the integrity of the goods. For example, goods utilized in the medical and food industries are often required to be maintained according to standards that are established in the respective industries to ensure that the quality of the goods is maintained. Accordingly, the temperature distribution within a particular storage unit, such as a refrigerator, a freezer, or an incubator, is evaluated by a purchaser before it is utilized, and during the course of its lifetime to validate that the storage unit in use is performing in accordance with the established standards.
Manufacturers, when provided with information from a purchaser specifying how a storage unit will be utilized, will design the storage unit to meet the purchaser's requirements and will test the storage unit before shipping it to the purchaser to verify that the storage unit performs as expected. The purchaser, upon receipt of the storage unit typically will also test the temperature distribution within the storage unit to ensure that the storage unit meets the specifications. Notwithstanding these tests by the manufacturer, purchasers frequently find that the storage unit does not perform as indicated by the manufacturer.
The difference between the manufacturer's test data and the purchaser's test data is often attributed to the differences between the testing equipment of the manufacturer and the testing equipment of the purchaser. The differences between the test equipment may be attributed to the differences between the needs of the manufacturer and the needs of the purchaser. A manufacturer may have test equipment that is designed to test storage units of various sizes, while a purchaser may have test equipment that is designed to test a storage unit of a particular size.
Conventional equipment, utilized by both manufacturers and purchasers for evaluating the temperature distribution within a storage unit, includes a processing device from which sensors attached to conductive wires extend. An opening or port is provided to allow the conductive wires and sensors into the storage unit for measuring the temperature within the storage unit. There may be discrepancies between the test data of the manufacturer and the test data of the purchaser, if, for example, any one or more of the following factors differ between the two sets of test equipment: the number of sensors; the number and type of conductive wires thermal weighting of the sensors; and the size of the port or opening created in the storage unit.
The sensors and wires generate electric fields that contribute heat to the environment within the storage device. Accordingly, the temperature within a storage unit may vary according to the number of sensors and wires utilized. Further, the amount of heat generated by a particular type of wire may vary according to how well the wire is insulated, i.e., how well the insulating material is preventing heat generated from the conductive wires from penetrating into the storage unit.
Air from outside of the storage unit entering through the port or opening where the wires are brought into the storage unit can affect the temperature inside of the storage unit. The more the wiring fills the opening, the less outside air will enter the storage unit and affect the temperature distribution within the storage unit. Thus, the amount of outside air that is able to enter the storage unit will depend on the number of wires utilized and/or the size of the wires utilized. Accordingly, temperature measurements by the manufacturer may differ from the temperature measurements of the purchaser if each utilizes a different number of wires to perform temperature measurements.
Thus, in order to eliminate discrepancies between the manufacturer's test data and the purchaser's test data, it would be desirable to have a standard method and device for evaluating the temperature within a storage unit that can be easily duplicated and utilized by the manufacturer and the purchaser to render consistent test data.
It would also be desirable to provide a method and device for evaluating the temperature within a storage unit that can be utilized to test storage units of various sizes.